slosh

Paul Dallas must have rubbed some people the wrong way.

C'mon ColdWaterFshr! that adds no value to this post. Why stir the pot? I respect everyone's religious beliefs (or lack thereof). I get why you believe or don't. I don't think I'm anymore "right" than the next person. If we were born in another place or time, we might think differently. Throughout history, humans try to understand and explain things (what happens after we die, what is thunder and lightning, why does the sun rise and set, why is the earth flat, etc) . I've come to the conclusion that religion/gods are a way for humans to explain the unexplainable (in my humble opinion).

The Upper Current trails are horse trails. I'm not sure if they're legal. They are REALLY overgrown this time of year. You can go from Baptist all the way to Akers. I've done it. Google maps should help. Parker to Akers is a lot of old road which you can see from google maps. There are also trails along parts of the river but overgrown now. This is mainly trout water although you can catch an occasional smallie. Fall, Winter and Spring are great times to be on the trail and on a river. Summer....not so much (in my humble opinion). Recommend Cedar Grove to Welch Spring. You can explore the Welch and Medlock Cave (cool spring coming out the side of the hill but you can't go in the cave anymore). The water is wadeable although it's really moving below Welch (doubles the size of the river). Get out there and explore. That's part of the fun! It's tough to get lost as long as you know where the river is. I've only floated the upper Jacks and haven't done much exploring. I did camp on a gravel bar and there was a trail that I followed for a couple miles. Ended up going to a cabin so I turned around.

From Stegall mountain to the Current river is probably my favorite section of the OT. Great views on Stegall, rocky falls, klepzig mill, some cool shut ins on rocky creek. Have done the entire trail from the Western Terminus to Onondaga (not all at once). I actually have a section of the OT I maintain. Anyway, on to the fishing and backpacking. This time of year can be really overgrown. I prefer to just wade In the river and fish and camp on a gravel bar. There’s also a new section of trail from Round Spring thru Echo Bluff State Park and finishes at Current River State Park (about 5ish river miles). Would make a good hike up and float back down. Not sure if there’s maps yet. I’ve done Echo bluff to Current. That might be better wade fishing. Eleven Point is an option too. There’s also other unmarked trails on the upper Current. Have heard they finished a section connecting the OT to Round Spring but not sure if it’s maintained yet (heard there were issues with logging destroying it). Be glad to answer any other questions.

I had a blast for the 2.5 years I was there. Gradumucated back in Dec 97.

The only place I've seen a rattlesnake in the wild was the same area a few years ago - on the katy south of 40/61. We rode our bikes our to Defiance and had to hightail it back before it got dark. We saw a copperhead and a rattlesnake on the katy between between the Weldon Access and the hwy 40 bridge. I stopped and we got close to the rattlesnake. Told my 7 or 8 year old daughter at the time how lucky she was to see one so young. There's a healthy population behind Six Flags. Know of quite a few folks who have jumped over them while trail running. That'll put a little more pep in your step!

Gotcha. So sounds like in your opinion it won't hurt the fishery. That's good. Thanks for the reply.

This post brought me out of hiding. I'm not a lake fisherman at all, have never even used a fish finder. Do you think these electronics will have a negative impact on the fishery in the future? I hope not. Maybe most lake fisherman don't have the electronics yet but they will in the future when the prices go down. Folks will for sure be catching more since it sounds like it's a real game changer. Do you think more people will keep more fish and cause the fishing to be worse since there's not as many fish? Or the fish are more heavily pressured whereas before, they didn't see near as many lures/bait. This is just interesting to me. Curious what the experts think. Cheers.

Topwater fishing of any kind is hands down the best! Congrats on the nice browns.

I’m you’re huckleberry CWF. Just don’t crack my rib, ha.

Gavin, I'll gladly take them for $40.

That's a beaut Clark!

Thanks for the report. Enjoyed reading it. That's awesome you got to see the bobcat too.

Dang that sucks. The Cold Water F'der.

Thanks awhuber! I like it! Gonna be a bit of a haul for canoes & gear now. Speaking of which, do you know if there's any reason we can't put canoes in there now?

I'd like to see the pics.....please post.

Rumor has it they are done at Baptist.

Hopefully they will put up some sort of barrier so no one will drive right down to the river.

Can you drive around that circle in the last pic and unload your canoes/gear back there or is that circle just a sidewalk? Tough to tell from the pic.

Your wife didn't mind!

Anyone on here happen to take a hammock that was left behind back off the river below Cedar Grove? I accidentally left it. We floated out on Sunday April 24th and I went back down Friday April 29th and it was gone. I thought there was a chance it would still be there since it was back off the river behind a huge log jam.

Great hike from current river to rocky falls! Take the ozark trail. Go to ozarktrail.com for moe info including detailed maps. Probably my favorite section on the trail!

Anyone lose a fly rod on the eleven point recently? I found one and would like to return it to its rightful owner.

I don't mean to hijack this thread but does anyone else remember an article in the Conservationist years ago about the MDC shocking this crick and finding a 5 or 7 lb rainbow? It was a long time ago and my memory could be wrong as it often is. Or did Paul Dallas catch this monster Blue Springs 'bow and used it to impress his japanese geisha with trout ceviche and sashimi.

there is a trail that comes out in Ashley creek about 100 yards up from the river confluence. I ran it a couple years ago to shuttle but I was running upstream. It was tough to follow and overgrown. Not sure I would have found it going down. I'm guessing with the high water that there hasn't been much foot traffic to keep it beat down.